"I can't believe he's actually making me do this," Booth says to Brennan as they enter the diner, taking their seats at their usual table.
"Booth, he does things unconventionally for the most part, or so you've told me. Didn't he make you put together a barbeque at your first session as part of his 'process?'" He nodded at her in acknowledgement of this fact. "So why would this surprise you?" She questioned him.
"But, apologizing to an ice cream truck, Bones?" Come on, that's just ridiculous!" He throws his hands up in the air.
"Yeah, about as ridiculous as shooting one in the first place, I suppose," she counters, with a smirk.
"Touché."
A few seconds later, the pair hears the sound of music in the distance. Brennan peers out the window and watches as the ice cream truck slowly approaches. She stands and takes Booth by the hand, leading him towards the door.
"As stupid as this may seem to you, Dr. Wyatt thinks that this is a very important step into fully helping you get over your issues." She moves behind him and pushes him out the door. They stand on the corner awaiting its arrival.
"Since when have you been all 'down with psychology?'" She gives him a questioning look in response. "You hate psychology."
With that, the truck pulls up in front of them. Brennan grabs Booth's upper arm and drags him towards the vehicle.
"Yes, yes I do," Brennan agreed. "But, Dr. Wyatt has been right about quite a few things. He did help us confront some things that we had decided to intentionally avoid..." She turns to him and they smile at each other, simultaneously. "So why not go with it. Besides, this is the last thing you have to do before you can fully get back to work. No more psych evaluations, just you and I in the field, catching the bad guys like we always have. Ya know, before your bout of anger against this poor, innocent, ice cream truck" she says, punctuating each word by patting the truck for effect. "Now, Booth, say you're sorry."
"Can't you just call Wyatt and tell him that I did it?" He suggests.
"Booth..." she says with a disapproving tone. She places her hand on her hip in a manner frighteningly similar to the way in which his mother used to when reprimanding him as a child.
He looks at her with annoyance. "Fine. I'm only doing this so that things can get back to normal."
"Good."
"Great." He hesitates, then turns back to Brennan. "For the record, I still find it extremely stupid having to apologize to a car..."
"It's an ice cream truck, not a car," she corrects before she notices Booth trying to back away. "Booth! Just do it."
Returning to the ice cream truck, he addresses it. "I'm sorry I shot you," He says begrudgingly, focusing his attention on the truck. Turning back to Brennan he says, "There. Are you happy now?"
"Hmm," she ponders. "I don't know Booth. That didn't feel very sincere to me. I don't think I can call Dr. Wyatt and honestly tell him that you thoroughly followed all of his instructions. It just wouldn't be right."
Booth looks at her in mock horror. "You're serious?"
"Yes, Booth, I am. But this time, try it with –" she pauses, enjoying the situation more than she should be. "A little more feeling."
He turns back to the truck, but not before looking back at her, pleading for her to change her mind. The expression on her face says that she most definitely won't budge. "I'm sorry I shot you. It was an idiotic thing to do and I was wrong. I hope we can still be friends, Mr. Softee." He turns back to Brennan, who is laughing, and drops his arms in defeat. "There. Was that better?"
"Yes, much." She says as she joins him and wraps her arm around his waist, leading him toward the vendor's window. "Now…you can buy me ice cream."
"I'm buying you ice cream now? When was that part of the deal?" He pulls her closer to him and lets out a chuckle as Brennan playfully swats at him.
She stops a minute to ponder. "Just think of it as the final step of making amends. Once you do this, I'll be sure to call Dr. Wyatt and let him know you followed through."
"Are you blackmailing me?" He questions, taking a step back.
"Yes," she states, with a glimmer in her eyes.
"I don't like it," he says as he put his hands on his hips, challenging her.
"I'm fairly certain you're not supposed to," she retorts.
The familiarity of the banter isn't lost on either of them and they smile at each other, knowing no matter what the future holds for them things will turn out okay.
"Fine. Let's got get some ice cream because you have a phone call to make. I really miss my gun."
-------------------------------------------------
And with that, we come to the end.
This story was so much fun to write even though it pretty much wrote itself. Scenes just played out in my head and all I had to do was write them down, so I guess I should be thanking my muse, even though you picked the most inopportune times to play those scenes out sometimes. :)
Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this and an extra thanks for those of you who sent in your reviews. I truly appreciated ever last one of them.
Finally, I have to give a huge THANKS to my beta/sidekick for continually encouraging me and supporting me in my writing. Without you, I probably would have never put any of my work online.